Ex-HP CEO Mark Hurd joins Oracle

NEW BOY Having overseen a number of large acquisitions at HP, Mark Hurd should feel at home at Oracle, one of the most active buyers of companies in the tech industry

/ NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE , SAN FRANCISCO

In naming Mark Hurd as Oracle’s new co-president, Lawrence Ellison, Oracle’s chief executive and largest shareholder, has put his money where his controversial mouth is.

Late on Monday, Oracle announced that Hurd, the former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard (HP), had joined the company as a president and a director.

Hurd, 53, resigned from his position at HP one month ago, after an investigation by the board into a personal relationship with a contractor discovered questionable expense reports.

Ellison, a personal friend of Hurd’s, criticized HP’s board last month in an e-mail message to the New York Times, saying it was “the worst personnel decision since the idiots on the Apple board fired Steve Jobs many years ago.”

Now, Oracle intends to capitalize on HP’s mistake, Ellison, 66, said.

“Mark did a brilliant job at HP, and I expect he’ll do even better at Oracle,” Ellison said in the statement. “There is no executive in the IT world with more relevant experience than Mark.”

Oracle already had a crowded management suite, with Charles Phillips Jr and Safra Catz serving as co-presidents under Ellison.

Phillips, however, has resigned and given up his seat on the board, making room for Hurd.

In his statement, Ellison said that Phillips had asked to leave the company in December.

“We will miss his talent and leadership, but I respect his decision,” Ellison said.

This year, Phillips acknowledged having an affair after a woman he had been seeing, YaVaughnie Wilkins, put up a Web site and billboards detailing his extramarital relationship.